Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Gone from the header of my blog is the photo of an old family home in Ballyfoyle, Kilkenny.

As we recently had a family wedding with a good photographer I now have a relatively decent photo of the the children, their spouses and Mr and Mrs Geniaus that I am now using in the Geniaus header.

The young people in the photo are the future of our family. As their Mother and Mother-in-law I feel blessed to have such a beautiful family. I can think of no more fitting image for my blog than this one.

Mr Geniaus and I are known to our grandchildren as BobBob and Gummy. Gummy is the word our first toddler grandchild started calling me and it has stuck. I love being Gummy as it is a unique name that is very special as it was coined by one of the descendants.

My mother who was Grandma Elsie to my children is happy to be called Elsie by the greatgrandchildren. I called my own grandparents Nanna D and Nanna C so when my children were born we changed to Grandma for my Mum so there would be no confusion. My great-grandmother who was long gone before my children were born was known as Granny P.

Last night we were discussing Grandparent names with friends who had Barbie and Pa Jim and Nana and Grandfather as names for their children's grandparents. I am wondering what other names genealogists have in their families for grandparents.

Swimsuits, known in Australia as swimmers, bathers, cossies, boardies and budgie smugglers, are an integral part of an Aussie wardrobe. Geniaus has about half a dozen in her wardrobe plus a collection of old cossies in various sizes for visitors who may want to take a dip in the pool when they are visiting.

Swimmers feature prominently in Geniaus' family albums. For this carnival I am posting a photo that is not so old. It's a photo of Geniaus on her annual summer holiday to Ettalong around 1955.

In early January Mum, Dad, Geniaus and a few aunts, uncles and a cousin would pack the luggage into Uncle Jack's big Vauxhall and head to Woy Woy by train then to Ettalong by bus (Uncle Jack and family travelled by road) where we hired a cottage in Booker Bay Road close to the beach. Holiday activities included fishing in a boat we hired for the duration from Anderson's Boatshed, lots of swimming and canoeing in the calm waters at Ettalong and excursions in Uncle Jack's car. We would all pile in (no seat belts required in those days) and visit the big smoke in Gosford and the surfing beaches in Terrigal and Avoca.

We would eat lots of fresh local seafood: fish caught by the men and local prawns and oysters from the local co-op. We did not eat out but shared casual meals prepared by Mum and the aunts.

As only children my cousin and I revelled in the times these holidays that allowed us to interact with our extended family.

I was excited to note that the Canberra group is holding a meeting when I am there next week but, alas, I have a dinner engagement that evening and won't be able to join them. Best wishes for a productive meeting. Details can be found from the link below.

Now online at the State Library in Western Australia are The Western Australian Post Office Directories."The post office directories published by H. Pierssené and then by H. Wise & Co. are an invaluable source of information for anyone who is doing family history or research on Western Australia during the period 1893-1949."

It's easy to be complacent about passwords and online security. National E-security Awareness Week 2009 is being held this week in Australia. Our government hosts this week to to raise awareness about the importance of e-security among Australians.

Details of activities and suggestions for improving personal online security can be found at the Week's website.

Sadly I never got to meet my husband's grandparents who are pictured here. Eliza Anne Gowans, aged 17, and Ernest James Gillespie, aged 23, were married at 188 Albany Road Petersham on 29 October 1913 according to the rites of the Presbyterian Church with G. Acheson Gordon the officiating Minister.

Eliza and Ernest's partnership ended in divorce around 1935. Eliza had two more marriages before her death in 1962, whilst Ernest had one more marriage before his death in 1958.

After a relaxing few weeks floating around the Adriatic and Mediterranean with Mr Geniaus on two very different cruise vessels I have returned to Australia and am ready to get stuck into family history once more. The only spot of family history I did was a catchup with a distant cousin in Horningsham, Wiltshire,whom I had initially discovered through Genes Reunited.

I have many News and RSS feeds to go through and will share any relevant gems with you on this blog. Please take a look at the shared items box on the left hand side of the blog to see some news and info I have found..